


Shore Leave

by starsystems



Series: summerpornathon 2011 [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: summerpornathon, M/M, Wordcount: 500-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-01
Updated: 2011-07-01
Packaged: 2017-10-23 02:57:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/245536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsystems/pseuds/starsystems
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trust Gwaine to find the <i>one</i> seedy bar in a perfectly respectable space station.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shore Leave

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the AU challenge at summerpornathon 2011.

The lights on the console flicker blue, green and orange. Merlin waves the holographic dials away and lets the ship’s computer take charge. It starts running diagnostics and calculating flight paths with something akin to quiet pleasure. The flashing of the lights slows down.

“You ready?” Gwaine asks from the door, leaning against the door frame like he’s trying out for the Most Dashing Rogue of the Galaxy pageant.

“You know I hate shore-leave,” Merlin says. “Every time I get out of the ship, everyone starts asking my opinion or needs my help. It’s like I’m the only person in the whole galaxy that can save them or find their missing pet or something.”

“That’s only because you like to stick your nose into other people’s business. It’s your own damn fault. Besides, you need the experience.”

“Hah. The experience,” Merlin huffs. “Last week it was ‘oh please would you find me some fish to eat?’ or ‘would you mind terribly if I asked you to hack seven different comm terminals for hidden data?’ It’s never ending. And stupid.”

Merlin follows Gwaine out of the airlock and into the long corridors of the space station. At least it’s one of the nicer space stations. There is a distinct lack of trash and mercenaries and the funny odors of aliens with poor personal hygiene.

“I’m not even the bloody captain of this ship. Why can’t Arthur deal with all these weird requests? He’s the one who actually _likes_ this quest stuff.”

“Speaking of Arthur,” Gwaine says with calculated casualness. “Should we take him with us?”

“No.”

“Considering the way you keep getting into trouble… maybe it would be good if there were three of us?”

“ _No._ And we are _not_ getting into trouble.”

Of course they end up getting into trouble. To Merlin’s defence, the huge, bull-like alien at the bar started it. So now he’s crouching behind the bar counter, Gwaine’s maniacal laughter ringing in his ears while everyone is shooting everyone. Trust Gwaine to find the _one_ seedy bar in a perfectly respectable space station.

He checks his shields for what feels like the millionth time since the battle started and peeks over the edge of the bar to snipe the few mercenaries camped near the door. He hears Gwaine’s assault rifle somewhere to his left. Even while all the way drunk, Gwaine is still infinitely better than any of the mercenaries they are fighting. And these guys are supposed to be professionals! They probably should have learned how to duck and cover already. But no. Apparently not.

The fight is over very quickly.

“Sometimes I think that the constant random fighting isn’t actually _my_ fault. That _you_ somehow get us into these situations just so that you can get post-firefight sex out of me,” Merlin mutters at Gwaine when they have looted the last body.

“I do like the post-fighting sex,” Gwaine muses. “But, no. I also like the normal sex with you.” He brushes his hands over Merlin’s shoulders, like checking for some missed injury, maybe for a bullet hole in hiding. “There’s always the risk of getting actually shot while fighting and then I wouldn’t get any kind of sex at all.”

“I know how you’d hate that,” Merlin agrees.

“Aw,” Gwaine says and pulls Merlin into a hug. “I’d hate not having you around even more.”

“So stop pissing off random aliens in seedy bars, please,” Merlin says, although he doesn’t hold much hope for it.

“I’ll try. Very hard,” Gwaine promises. Or, well, Merlin is determined to treat it as a legitimate promise.

Merlin sighs into Gwaine’s shoulder.

“Let’s get out of here,” Gwaine says and drags Merlin back to the ship. They only stop twice to help strangers with huge life-changing problems on their way.

——

“And then we had very tender, fade-to-black sex in my bunk,” Merlin says. “With mood-lighting and romantic music and close ups of our loving faces.”

“Oh my god, stop talking,” Arthur says.

“No, actually, it was really hot and pretty violent. And _loud_ ,” Merlin says. “Good thing we had the foresight to do it in the engine room. That place is sound-proofed really well.”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up and fly the goddamn ship,” Arthur says.


End file.
